


Lovers' Lace

by Twilight_Joltik



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Gen, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright, in universe folklore is my jam, like several generations post canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-31 11:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18590431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twilight_Joltik/pseuds/Twilight_Joltik
Summary: Anna, forced to help her older sister man a booth at a festival in Windfell, wanders off and finds herself in the ruins of an old castle, met with a mysterious young woman.





	Lovers' Lace

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this was only partially my idea, so major credit goes to divine_chicken and anotherstory for the base idea for this. My contributions were mainly just my major obsession with flower based folklore and Soleil's involvement. Anyways, hope y'all enjoy!

Anna was absolutely bored to tears at this dumb festival. Her older sister had insisted she help her out with her booth, for “valuable learning experience” in her future business endeavors. But, she didn’t feel like she was getting any valuable experience. All she was getting was pollen all over her hands from these dumb flower crowns her sister was having her make.

 

Sure, they were selling well, but they were making her hands cramp! Not to mention all of the lovey-dovey couples coming to buy them were seriously getting on her nerves. Why were there so many couples here anyways? It wasn’t around the Day of Devotion, nor was it any sort of flower festival, or harvest festival judging from how cold it was. It was just the middle of fall, and some day dedicated to a long dead prince.

 

“What’s this festival even about, anyways?” she asked her older sister after two girls left their booth with those flower crowns perched on their head and no tip left. “Why are there so many couples?”

 

Her sister just shrugged. “Oh, who knows! It’s just a Nohrian tradition, and the Annas have been selling here for generations!”

 

She didn’t even know? Anna rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m gonna go find something to eat,” she lied. Really she was just bored and wanted to get away from this crowd for a while.

 

Despite her sister saying something as she left, she didn’t pay it much mind. She just wandered off, through the crowds until she finally found a much quieter part of Windfell. Looked like the ruins of an old castle or something. Strange, people usually didn’t leave stuff like this standing, and if they did, tourists usually flocked to stuff like this.

 

For a moment, she glanced around, a feeling of unease creeping up on her, until her worried were quelled by seeing another person there. A blonde girl, around her age, was standing nearby, gazing off in the distance and holding one of the flower crowns. Odd, she hadn’t remembered her coming to their booth, was someone else selling them?

 

Ooh, her big sis would be so proud if she came back with information about a competing salesperson! So, she just had to go up and ask her about it! “Hey there!” she called out.

 

It took a moment for her to respond, and when she did, she did so with a startled jump. “Oh!” She turned around and quickly put on a smile. “Hello there, miss. I don’t believe we’ve met before!”

 

Anna snorted a laugh. “Well, we haven’t, but you’ve probably met one of my sisters-”

 

“No, I think I’d recognize a face as lovely as yours, even if I’d only seen ones who resemble it!” the girl countered, taking a few steps closer. “But no, you’re new to me! It’s nice to meet you, I’m Soleil!”

 

“Anna,” she responded, extending a hand. Soleil didn’t shake it but rather turned away.

 

“So, Anna, what might you be doing here?” she asked.

 

Considering that wasn’t a question she had a good answer to, she cut right to the chase. “I just saw you had that flower crown and I was wondering where you got it,” she explained. “I thought me and my big sister were the only ones selling it here, but I don't remember you coming by!”

 

“Oh, I made it myself!” Soleil exclaimed.

 

“You… did?” She glanced at the circlet again. It looked freshly made, even fresher than the ones they were selling, and they’d gone to great lengths to preserve their flowers! “But it’s practically winter! Where did you find flowers to make that with?”

 

Soleil giggled. “I thought you’d never ask! Come on, I’ll show you!”

 

She dashed off, further into the ruins, gesturing for Anna to follow. Figuring it would be a good way to get extra flowers should their booth run out, she happily followed, trying not to trip over the uneven ground and loose stones.

 

Eventually, they came to an odd looking clearing. It had clearly once been a big room, with fancy pillars collapsed all over. And, between bits of broken up flooring, sure enough, were dozens upon dozens of pink flowers.

 

She bent down to get a closer look. “These look different than the ones we were using,” Anna mused. Each of the flowers had two blooms on them, curling in on each other. “What kind are these, anyways?”

 

“Lovers’ Lace!” Soleil exclaimed, as if that explained everything.

 

The name sounded kinda familiar, but she just shrugged. “Can’t say I’ve heard of it.”

 

Soleil frowned. “You haven’t? But that’s the whole point of the festival!”

 

“I’m from out of town,” Anna explained. “My sister brought me here to help out. I dunno anything about the local legends or anything.”

 

“That’s a shame,” Soleil murmured, sitting down beside a few flowers, voice losing her prior energy. “Want me to tell you? I think it’d be a shame if you didn’t hear it before you leave.”

 

“Uh, sure,” Anna agreed, sitting down. “Go ahead.”

 

Soleil fiddled with the flower crown. “Where we’re sitting right now was the site of a great battle- the defining battle of the Hoshidan-Nohrian war, in fact.”

 

“Really? In the middle of a castle?”

 

She nodded. “The Hoshidan forces seized the Nohrian palace, knowing it was the only way to get to the wicked King Garon. The only one standing between them and him was Prince Xander and his forces. But, the leader of the Hoshidan forces was Xander’s brother, Corrin; he’d been kidnapped by King Garon when he was young and raised as a prince of Nohr, but returned to Hoshido upon learning the truth. Xander insisted on a one on one duel between himself and Corrin. But…”

 

Trailing off, she looked up and sighed. “It didn’t turn out like that. Their younger sister, Elise, tried to stop her brothers from fighting, but tragically, she was stricken down by accident. Hearing the commotion, Xander’s most trusted retainer, Lazlow, rushed to his aid, rallying troops. A great battle broke out, and in the end, barely clinging to life, Lazlow managed to reach his liege just as Corrin dealt the final blow.”

 

Soleil paused for a moment, fiddling with the flower crown again. “No one knows for sure if it’s true, but they say that with their final breaths, Xander and Lazlow professed their love for each other. I… I’ve heard that the first Lovers’ Lace flowers grew from their blood, and that whoever picks them for their lover will have their relationship blessed by their spirits, watching over them to assure none suffer in love as they did. That’s how the festival started; around Prince Xander’s birthday every year, people would come pick flowers for their lovers, and from there it became a festival to celebrate love and how precious it is. Lots of people confess to their crushes at the festival in their honor, because of how… fleeting life and love can be…”

 

Was Soleil… crying? Anna wasn’t sure, but her eyes looked rather watery. She reached a hand out to comfort her, only to have Soleil jerk away. “I- I’m fine!”, Soleil assured her. “It’s just a sad story, that’s all!”

 

“Y-yeah,” Anna responded, not really sure what was the proper response to that. “All the people at the festival seem so happy; I never would have guessed it started for such sad reasons!”

 

“Well, I think it’s what d- it’s what they would have wanted,” Soleil stuttered out. “For the peace they sought to have been born… even after their deaths…”

 

For a moment, they sat there in silence before Soleil stood up. “I won’t keep you any longer, Anna. Here-” She tossed the flower crown she’d been holding to her. “Hold onto this for me, will ya? Maybe you can use it as a template for making more or something! Don’t sell it, though.”

 

“I- I won’t,” Anna assured her. She looked away from the blonde girl for a moment as she got to her feet. “Thank you so much for-”

 

The instant she looked up, Soleil had vanished. She’d only looked away for a second, certainly not long enough for her to run off, and yet there was no trace of her.

 

Anna looked down at the flower crown in her hands and after a moment of staring at it, put it on. She felt a gentle warmth as she did so, like a sunbeam hitting her skin.

 

She turned back to go find her sister again, a smile growing on her lips. Maybe this festival wasn’t so bad after all.


End file.
